Science & Technology – UPSC Prelims PYQs

Consider the following statements : The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO

1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission
2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA
3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding National Innovation Foundation–India (NIF)?

1. NIF is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology under the Central Government.
2. NIF is an initiative to strengthen the highly advanced scientific research in India's premier scientific institutions in collaboration with highly advanced foreign scientific institutions.

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With reference to the use of nano-technology in health sector, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Targeted drug delivery is made possible by nanotechnology.
2. Nanotechnology can largely contribute to gene therapy.

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In the context of modern scientific research, consider the following statements about ‘IceCube’, a particle detector located at South Pole, which was recently in the news :

1. It is the world’s largest neutrino detector, encompassing a cubic kilometre of ice.
2. It is a powerful telescope to search for dark matter.
3. It is buried deep in the ice.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to ‘Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a contactless communication technology that uses electromagnetic radio fields.
2. NFC is designed for use by devices which can be at a distance of even a metre from each other.
3. NFC can use encryption when sending sensitive information.

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The term ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is often seen in the news in the context of

In which of the following activities are Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites used?

1. Assessment of crop productivity
2. Locating groundwater resources
3. Mineral exploration
4. Telecommunications
5. Traffic studies

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The term 'IndARC', sometimes seen in the news, is the name of

H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases?

With reference to bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways, consider the following statements :

1. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets is initiated by a fungal inoculum.
2. Ammonia and water vapour are the only end products in this decomposition which are released into the atmosphere.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to ‘fuel cells’ in which hydrogen-rich fuel and oxygen are used to generate electricity, consider the following statements :

1. If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, the fuel cell emits heat and water as by-products.
2. Fuel cells can be used for powering buildings and not for small devices like laptop computers.
3. Fuel cells produce electricity in the form of Alternating Current (AC).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to technologies for solar power production, consider the following statements :

1. 'Photovoltaics' is a technology that generates electricity by direct conversion of light into electricity, while 'Solar Thermal' is a technology that utilizes the Sun's rays to generate heat which is further used in electricity generation process.
2. Photovoltaics generates Alternating Current (AC), while Solar Thermal generates Direct Current (DC).
3. India has manufacturing base for Solar Thermal technology, but not for Photovoltaics.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following diseases :

1. Diphtheria
2. Chickenpox
3. Smallpox

Which of the above diseases has/have been eradicated in India?

Which of the following phenomena might have influenced the evolution of organisms?

1. Continental drift
2. Glacial cycles

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Consider the following :

1. Bats
2. Bears
3. Rodents The phenomenon of hibernation can be observed in which of the above kinds of animals?

Lichens, which are capable of initiating ecological succession even on a bare rock, are actually a symbiotic association of

With reference to Agni–IV Missile, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a surface-to-surface missile.
2. It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
3. It can deliver one-tonne nuclear warheads about 7500 km away.

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In India, cluster bean (Guar) is traditionally used as a vegetable or animal feed, but recently the cultivation of this has assumed significance. Which one of the following statements is correct in this context?

Which one of the following is the process involved in photosynthesis?

In addition to fingerprint scanning, which of the following can be used in the biometric identification of a person?

1. Iris scanning
2. Retinal scanning
3. Voice recognition

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Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding vegetative propagation of plants?

1. Vegetative propagation produces clonal population.
2. Vegetative propagation helps in eliminating the virus.
3. Vegetative propagation can be practiced most of the year.

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Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? Spacecraft : Purpose

1. Cassini-Huygens : Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
2. Messenger : Mapping and investigating the Mercury
3. Voyager 1 and 2 : Exploring the outer solar system

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Which of the following is/are the example/examples of chemical change?

1. Crystallization of sodium chloride
2. Melting of ice
3. Souring of milk

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Consider the following techniques/phenomena :

1. Budding and grafting in fruit plants
2. Cytoplasmic male sterility
3. Gene silencing

Which of the above is/are used to create transgenic crops?

Consider the following statements :

1. Maize can be used for the production of starch.
2. Oil extracted from maize can be a feedstock for biodiesel.
3. Alcoholic beverages can be produced by using maize.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Among the following organisms, which one does not belong to the class of other three?

Consider the following pairs : Vitamin

1. Vitamin C : Scurvy
2. Vitamin D : Rickets
3. Vitamin E : Night blindness

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

There is some concern regarding the nanoparticles of some chemical elements that are used by the industry in the manufacture of various products. Why?

1. They can accumulate in the environment, and contaminate water and soil.
2. They can enter the food chains.
3. They can trigger the production of free radicals.

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Recombinant DNA technology (Genetic Engineering) allows genes to be transferred

1. Across different species of plants
2. From animals to plants
3. From microorganisms to higher organisms

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Improper handling and storage of cereal grains and oilseeds result in the production of toxins known as aflatoxins which are not generally destroyed by normal cooking process. Aflatoxins are produced by

Which of the following diseases can be transmitted from one person to another through tattooing?

1. Chikungunya
2. Hepatitis B
3. HIV-AIDS

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Consider the following minerals:

1. Calcium
2. Iron
3. Sodium

Which of the minerals given above is/are required by human body for the contraction of muscles?

Fruits stored in a cold chamber exhibit longer storage life because

Ball bearings are used in bicycles, cars, etc., because

Consider the following phenomena:

1. Size of the sun at dusk
2. Colour of the sun at dawn
3. Moon being visible at dawn
4. Twinkle of stars in the sky
5. Polestar being visible in the sky

Which of the above are optical illusions?

Rainbow is produced when sunlight falls on drops of rain. Which of the following physical phenomena are responsible for this?

1. Dispersion
2. Refraction
3. Internal reflection

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Many transplanted seedlings do not grow because

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Viruses lack enzymes necessary for the generation of energy.
2. Viruses can be cultured in any synthetic medium.
3. Viruses are transmitted from one organism to another by biological vectors only.

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The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz., gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force. With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct?

The efforts to detect the existence of Higgs boson particle have become frequent news in the recent past. What is/are the importance/ importances of discovering this particle?

1. It will enable us to understand as to why elementary particles have mass.
2. It will enable us in the near future to develop the technology of transferring matter from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them.
3. It will enable us to create better fuels for nuclear fission.

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What is the role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the water purification systems?

1. It inactivates/kills the harmful microorganisms in water.
2. It removes all the undesirable odours from the water.
3. It quickens the sedimentation of solid particles, removes turbidity and improves the clarity of water.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Graphene is frequently in news recently. What is its importance?

1. It is a two-dimensional material and has good electrical conductivity.
2. It is one of the thinnest but strongest materials tested so far.
3. It is entirely made of silicon and has high optical transparency.
4. It can be used as 'conducting electrodes' required for touch screens, LCDs and organic LEDs.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to 'stem cells', frequently in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Stem cells can be derived from mammals only.
2. Stem cells can be used for screening new drugs.
3. Stem cells can be used for medical therapies.

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A team of scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory including those from India created the heaviest anti-matter (anti-helium nucleus). What is/are the implication/implications of the creation of anti-matter?

1. It will make mineral prospecting and oil exploration easier and cheaper.
2. It will help probe the possibility of the existence of stars and galaxies made of anti-matter.
3. It will help understand the evolution of the universe.

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Which of the following is/are cited by the scientists as evidence/evidences for the continued expansion of universe?

1. Detection of microwaves in space
2. Observation of redshift phenomenon in space
3. Movement of asteroids in space
4. Occurrence of supernova explosions in space

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Electrically charged particles from space travelling at speeds of several hundred km/sec can severely harm living beings if they reach the surface of the Earth. What prevents them from reaching the surface of the Earth?

To meet its rapidly growing energy demand, some opine that India should pursue research and development on thorium as the future fuel of nuclear energy. In this context, what advantage does thorium hold over uranium?

1. Thorium is far more abundant in nature than uranium.
2. On the basis of per unit mass of mined mineral, thorium can generate more energy compared to natural uranium.
3. Thorium produces less harmful waste compared to uranium.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following sets of elements was primarily responsible for the origin of life on the Earth?

What are the reasons for the people's resistance to the introduction of Bt brinjal in India?

1. Bt brinjal has been created by inserting a gene from a soil fungus into its genome.
2. The seeds of Bt brinjal are terminator seeds and therefore, the farmers have to buy the seeds before every season from the seed companies.
3. There is an apprehension that the consumption of Bt brinjal may have adverse impact on health.
4. There is some concern that the introduction of Bt brinjal may have adverse effect on the biodiversity.

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Other than resistance to pests, what are the prospects for which genetically engineered plants have been created?

1. To enable them to withstand drought
2. To increase the nutritive value of the produce
3. To enable them to grow and do photosynthesis in spaceships and space stations
4. To increase their shelf life

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